"The Transplant Games have given me new ambitions, challenges and lots of shiny medals."

Andrea started competing in the British Transplant Games just one year after her transplant in 2014 and has competed every year since, trying a different sport every time. Thank you for sharing your story, Andrea

I received my liver transplant on the first day of spring 2014; it felt very apt. I had always been the fittest person that I knew, with family demands, a full-time job, as well as being a District Commissioner for Guides and a kayak coach. So when I started to feel tired I was concerned that I had a heart condition. Several years later, and a move from Buckinghamshire to the North, I was finally diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). Four years after that I was the lucky recipient of a new liver.

I went to the British Transplant Games in Cumbria the following year – I had practiced badminton in the back garden with the help of my husband and a northerly wind! I was rewarded with a bronze medal for badminton and a silver for volleyball – something that I hadn’t played since school.

Each year since then I have tried a different sport – something outside my comfort zone, like the 100m, then the 200m, shot putt and javelin – it was all great fun! I rediscovered tennis which, again, I hadn’t played since school. I turned up to the tennis tournament with a few coaching sessions and lots of misplaced optimism. Since then, I’ve continued with the coaching and it’s one of my hobbies – I play at least three days a week.

On the strength of my medals, I have been selected to represent GB&NI in tennis and athletics, and last year we went to the World Transplant Games in Perth, Australia. What an amazing opportunity and experience, who would ever have thought that something as negative as a rare liver disease/transplant could lead to such a truly fabulous experience.

I won a gold medal in archery at the 2024 British Transplant Games in Nottingham. I really didn’t expect it but was delighted to win it. I was equally delighted to win a European Gold medal for pétanque and a European silver medal for tennis in the European Games in Lisbon, held a week before the British Games.

Now back down to earth, the British Transplant Games are a fantastic way of meeting people who share your experiences. I know at least four other people with my rare disease and they all have the same strength and determination to succeed. I would hate to be defined by my condition, so the Transplant Games have given me new ambitions, challenges and lots of shiny medals.

The British Liver Trust is a great source of information for people living with liver disease. I was very pleased to be part of its Online Support Group that included pre and post-transplant patients. The pre-transplant patients found it invaluable because they were able to see what the future could hold for them, while the post-transplant patients were delighted to talk about their experiences. It began during the Covid lockdown and has continued, it helps people feel less isolated and more knowledgeable and, as we all know, knowledge is power.

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